The Echo Nest already works with Spotify, and editorial and media brands like the BBC, MTV and Twitter to feed data into their digital music applications.

Spotify says the deal will allow it to “leverage The Echo Nest’s in depth musical understanding and tools for curation to drive music discovery for millions of users around the globe”.

“We want to get people to listen to more music,” said Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder and CEO. “We are hyper-focused on creating the best user experience and it starts with building the best music intelligence platform on the planet. With The Echo Nest joining Spotify, we will make a big leap forward in our quest to play you the best music possible.”

Post-acquisition, The Echo Nest’s API “will remain free and open to support its robust developer ecosystem”, Spotify said. The company will also continue to operate out of its headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts, as well as in San Francisco.